JOSH Taylor may be a Londoner for now, but he unquestionably remains an Edinburgh boy at heart. The 26 year-old returned from his London training base – where Shane and Barry McGuigan train and manage him – to his home city of Edinburgh yesterday as he finalises the preparations for his WBC silver superlight weight title fight against Miguel Vazquez at the Royal Highland Centre on Saturday.
The Commonwealth gold medallist took part in an open workout at the Omni Centre in the city centre and he admits that it feels somewhat surreal to be the main attraction at a place he used to frequent as a teenager. “I grew up really close to here – I’d come here when I was at school and so to be a part of a big event like this, it’s pretty crazy,” he told Herald Sport.
“It’s really good to be back in Edinburgh – my last fight was in Glasgow, which was brilliant, but I’m really looking forward to fighting again in Edinburgh.”
This weekend’s bout will be only Taylor’s eleventh fight as a professional and he concedes considerable experience to his Mexican opponent who, at 30 years of age, has had 44 pro fights, winning 39 of them and becoming IBF world lightwewight champion along the way.
Taylor though, is unfazed, particularly coming off the back of an impressive victory against Englishman Ohara Davis in July which enhanced the Scot’s reputation no end.
“I’m super-confident,” he said. “I’m a little bit nervous because I know that this is going to be my biggest test so far but I’ve trained hard and I’m really focused.
“I think this will be a different kind of fight from the Davis fight. This will be a more technical, clever fight – I don’t think it will be as physical. I’m feeling great though and the closer this fight gets though, the more confident I’m feeling.”
Taylor’s assuredness is not unfounded. The Scot is in tremendous shape – he has bulked up and broadened out over the last two years as a professional and he admits that this time around, he has made weight easier than ever before. “I’ve been sticking to my diet better than I’ve ever done before, which makes a huge difference,” he said.
“The last couple of fights, I’ve been losing a lot of weight the last few nights and it’s really stressful when you’re having to do that. But this time, I’ve taken it down gradually over a longer period of time and I feel so much better for it.”
Taylor admits that not having to stress about his weight has been beneficial for him and has also made him slightly more amenable to those around him. “Being in control of my weight has helped me feel much more relaxed – I’m not quite as grumpy,” he laughed.
“I’m still a bit grumpy, but that’s just what I’m like in general, that’s nothing to do with losing weight. Everybody is doing my head in but that’s not their fault – it’s because the fight’s getting closer so I’m getting that little bit more crabbit. That’s normal, although it does make me a nightmare to be around.”
Despite Taylor still being able to count on two hands his pro fights, there has already been considerable talk of the Scot having the potential to become world champion. In these pages yesterday, the respected boxing journalist Steve Bunce talked of his admiration for Taylor and while the Scot’s feet remain on the ground, he admits to being flattered to being spoken about in such terms only a couple of years into his pro career.
“I believe that I’m good enough to fight for a world title right now but there’s no rush,” he said. “I read what Steve Bunce said and that’s really nice because I look up to him a lot. But at the same time, I like just going about my business quietly because when I do get a world title, then everybody will know who I am.”
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